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Iraq
Iraqi Offensives, 1980-82
On September 22, 1980, formations of Iraqi MiG-23s and MiG21s
attacked Iran's air bases at Mehrabad and Doshen-Tappen (both
near Tehran), as well as Tabriz, Bakhtaran, Ahvaz, Dezful, Urmia
(sometimes cited as Urumiyeh), Hamadan, Sanandaj, and Abadan.
Iranian defenses were caught by surprise, but the Iraqi raids
failed because Iranian jets were protected in specially strengthened
hangars and because bombs designed to destroy runways did not
totally incapacitate Iran's very large airfields. Within hours,
Iranian F-4 Phantoms took off from the same bases, successfully
attacked strategically important targets close to major Iraqi
cities, and returned home with very few losses.
Concurrently with its air attack, Iraq ordered six of its divisions
across the border into Iran, where they drove as far as eight
kilometers inland and occupied 1,000 square kilometers of Iranian
territory. As a diversionary move, a mechanized division overwhelmed
the border garrison at Qasr-e Shirin, while five armored and mechanized
divisions invaded Khuzestan on two axes, one crossing over the
Shatt al Arab near Basra, which led to the siege and eventual
occupation of Khorramshahr, and the second heading for Susangerd,
which had Ahvaz, the major military base in Khuzestan, as its
objective. In addition, Dehloran and several other towns were
targeted and were rapidly occupied to prevent reinforcement from
Bakhtaran and from Tehran. By mid-October, a full division advanced
through Khuzestan headed for Khorramshahr and Abadan and the strategic
oil fields nearby .
Iraq's blitz-like assaults against scattered and demoralized
Iranian forces led many observers to think that Baghdad would
win the war within a matter of weeks. Indeed, Iraqi troops did
capture the Shatt al Arab and did seize a forty-eight-kilometer-
wide strip of Iranian territory. But Tehran rejected a settlement
offer and held the line against the militarily superior Iraqi
force. It refused to accept defeat, and slowly began a series
of counteroffensives in January 1981. Iran stopped Iraqi forces
on the Karun River and, with limited military stocks, unveiled
its "human wave" assaults, which used thousands of Basij (Popular
Mobilization Army or People's Army) volunteers. The recapture
of Abadan, Iran's first major victory, came in September 1981.
Data as of May 1988
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